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Vollrath's handles are color-coded by size. The trigger on the side lets you get a good grip. A lever that works for righties lefties. Oxo's bowl release works best with hard ice cream. and the ball." This proved to be true when I tried these models, and it would be a real nuisance if, like White, you're called upon to scoop lots of ice cream at, say, a state fair. (Egg Farm Dairy makes fantastic ice cream, by the way.) But for just a few portions of ice cream, you should be able to get some nicely shaped balls of ice cream with the better versions of this scoop style. Consider trigger-release scoops made by Vollrath (top left) , which come in a variety of sizes and cost about $9. Not only does the Vollrath's sharp edge cut well through hard ice cream, but its design also allows you to get a good, forceful grip on the handle before using a trigger release with your thumb-in contrast to scoops whose entire handle gets squeezed together to prompt the release (above, far right) . As a lefty, I thought I'd like the latter style better, since the Vollrath's trigger is set up for use with your right thumb only. But being able to grab the handle firmly outweighs having to switch the scoop to my right hand to release. The best use for trigger-release scoops is por- tioning batter and cookie dough. Zeroll, which makes a variety of ice-cream scoops, calls its triggerrelease scoop a food disherj the words ice cream aren't even on the box. Indeed, these scoops, which come in a wide range of sizes, are ideal for portion- JUNE/JULY 2001 The beak on this open-sided Oxo scoop is perfect for pints. The nonstick bowl is a plus. Pros prefer an open-sided scoop. The Zeroll model here has a defrosting liquid Inside. A comfy squeezehandle disher. Zeroll's models have no springs to break or lose.